Promoting Resilience and Lowering Risk in Early Childhood

This is an intervention study to provide in-the-moment parenting tips with the goal of educating parents about monitoring and promoting child development, thereby increasing healthy parent-child interactions leading to resiliency in high-risk children. Specifically, in a sample of parents participating in a HV program, the investigators will use a smartphone app (mHealth app) to deliver twice-daily tailored messages with tips on monitoring and promoting child development. Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) of parents' emotions, parenting behaviors, and interactions with their children will also be collected via the mHealth app. Building off previous work the investigators expect that parents will evidence greater engagement in positive parenting practices on days when they receive the mobile-based parenting tips and strategies relative to on days when they do not receive this content.

The investigators hypothesize that in-the-moment parenting tips delivered around peak times of parent-child interactions (i.e., before work/school, mealtimes, and bedtime) will promote positive parenting practices in a sample of parents at increased risk of adversity exposure. The investigators aim to use EMA methodology to measure both group level differences (i.e., intervention vs. services as usual) and within-person fluctuations in harsh parenting, children's emotional and behavioral functioning, and positive parenting practices. The study will evaluate the following aims and hypotheses:

Aim 1. Conduct a 2-arm, randomized, controlled crossover trial to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a mobile-based parenting app with parents participating in HV services.

Hypothesis 1a. Parents will report high rates of satisfaction and usability. Hypothesis 1b. Parents will evidence greater engagement in positive parenting practices on days when they receive the mobile-based parenting tips and strategies relative to days when they do not receive this content.

Hypothesis 1c. Groups will evidence increases in positive parenting subscale scores after a month of app engagement.

Aim 2. Utilize EMA data and follow-up assessments to examine the impact of positive parenting practices on the promotion of child development.

Hypothesis 2a. Children will demonstrate less challenging and more positive behavioral functioning on days when their parents receive positive parenting tips.

Hypothesis 2b. Groups will evidence increases in developmental scores after a month of app engagement.

Inclusion criteria

• Any new or currently enrolled parent in Oklahoma or Tulsa County in MIECHV-funded home visiting programs.

Exclusion criteria

• Parents residing outside of Oklahoma or Tulsa Counties will not be recruited (although if they move to another county between baseline and follow-up, they may be eligible to complete the follow-up survey at the discretion of the Principal Investigator).
• Parents who cannot read/speak English or Spanish at an 8th-grade level or higher will not be recruited.
• Parents under age 16 will not be recruited. Parents ages 16-17 meeting other eligibility requirements may be recruited using the assent form with signatures from both of his/her parents.